f of State--Emperor AKIHITO (since 7 January 1989);

Head of Government--Prime Minister Toshiki KAIFU (since 9 August 1989)

Political parties and leaders: Liberal Democratic Party (LDP),
Toshiki Kaifu, president; Japan Socialist Party (JSP), T. Doi, chairman;
Democratic Socialist Party (DSP), Keigo Ouchi, chairman; Japan
Communist Party (JCP), K. Miyamoto, Presidium chairman; Komeito (Clean
Government Party, CGP), Koshiro Ishida, chairman

Suffrage: universal at age 20

Elections:
House of Councillors--last held on 23 July 1989 (next to be held
23 July 1992); results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(252 total, 100 elected) LDP 109, JSP 67, CGP 21, JCP 14,
others 33;

House of Representatives--last held on 18 February 1990
(next to be held by February 1993);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(512 total) LDP 275, JSP 136, CGP 45, JCP 16, JDSP 14,
other parties 5, independents 21; note--nine independents are expected
to join the LDP, five the JSP

Communists: about 470,000 registered Communist party members

Member of: ADB, ASPAC, CCC, Colombo Plan, DAC, ESCAP, FAO, GATT, IAEA,
IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, ICO, IDA, IDB--Inter-American Development Bank, IEA, IFAD,
IFC, IHO, ILO, ILZSG, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, IRC, ISO, ITC, ITU,
IWC--International Whaling Commission, IWC--International Wheat Council, OECD,
UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WSG

Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Nobuo MATSUNAGA; Chancery at
2520 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 939-6700;
there are Japanese Consulates General in Agana (Guam), Anchorage, Atlanta,
Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Kansas City (Missouri), Los Angeles,
New Orleans, New York, San Francisco, Seattle, and Portland (Oregon),
and a Consulate in Saipan (Northern Mariana Islands);
US--Ambassador Michael H. ARMACOST; Embassy at 10-1, Akasaka 1-chome,
Minato-ku (107), Tokyo (mailing address is APO San Francisco 96503); telephone
p81o (3) 224-5000; there are US Consulates General in Naha, Osaka-Kobe, and
Sapporo and a Consulate in Fukuoka

Flag: white with a large red disk (representing the sun without rays)
in the center

- Economy
Overview: Although Japan has few natural resources, since 1971 it has
become the world's third-largest industrial economy, ranking behind only the US
and the USSR. Government-industry cooperation, a strong work ethic, and a
comparatively small defense allocation have helped Japan advance ra